The National Tuberculosis Indicators Project (NTIP)

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What are the National Tuberculosis 

(TB) Program Objectives?

The National TB Program Objectives reflect national 

TB prevention and control priorities in the United 

States. A comprehensive list of the National TB Program 

Objectives and performance targets is available 

on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

(CDC) website at https://www.cdc.gov/tb/programs/

evaluation/indicators/default.htm

What is the National Tuberculosis 

Indicators Project (NTIP)?

NTIP is a web-based performance-monitoring tool. 

Indicators are measures developed to assess program 

progress toward the National TB Program Objectives 

agreed upon by CDC and the federally funded TB 

programs. NTIP provides TB program officials with 

indicator reports describing their program’s progress 

based on routine surveillance data collected and 

reported to the CDC Division of Tuberculosis Elimination 

(DTBE). Using NTIP, CDC consultants and TB program 

officials prioritize prevention and control activities, as 

well as program evaluation activities. 

Why was NTIP undertaken?

Program evaluation is an essential component of an 

effective public health program. Since 2005, CDC has 

included program evaluation as a core requirement of 

the Tuberculosis Elimination and Laboratory Cooperative 

Agreement. NTIP was developed to facilitate the use of 

existing data to help program staff prioritize activities, 

monitor progress, and focus program 

improvement efforts.

How does NTIP impact TB 

control programs?

NTIP uses a standardized method for calculating 

indicators associated with the national TB program 

objectives and for tracking program progress across sites 

and over time. This enables CDC and TB programs to 

assess the impact of TB control efforts at state and 

local levels. 

How is NTIP integrated into the 

cooperative agreement 

reporting process?

The Tuberculosis Elimination and Laboratory Cooperative 

Agreement uses the national TB program objectives as a 

framework for monitoring and managing programmatic 

activities for TB control and prevention. NTIP provides 

TB programs with reports of their progress on achieving 

these performance objectives using data collected and 

reported to CDC through electronic data reporting 

systems. TB program officials then use NTIP to track and 

report progress toward achieving national objectives 

as part of the cooperative agreement reporting 

requirements (i.e., annual progress reports), as well 

as toward preparing their applications for continued 

funding. 

CDC consultants monitor individual program progress 

using NTIP and work with TB program officials and staff to 

identify areas needing technical assistance and 

further examination.
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How can NTIP assist with 

program evaluation? 

NTIP is a monitoring system using standardized indicators 

and calculations to track progress toward national TB 

program objectives. Program evaluation is the systematic 

examination of programmatic processes to understand 

factors that have contributed to program outcomes. 

TB program staff can use NTIP reports to identify areas 

for further examination using program evaluation 

methodologies. Findings from program evaluation 

studies can then be used to formulate strategies to 

improve program practices.

Who has access to NTIP? What do TB 

program staff need to do to use 

this system? 

Access to NTIP is granted to state and local TB program 

staff by the designated TB system administrator(s) for 

their programs. Program staff can only be granted access 

to NTIP data for the programs or jurisdictions they work 

in. Staff who need access to NTIP should contact their 

program TB System Administrator and the CDC’s DTBE 

Technical Support Helpdesk via DTBESupport@cdc.gov

for assistance. 

NTIP reports are also available for some program areas 

that are not direct recipients of TB cooperative agreement 

funding. State program officials may request the 

development of additional reports for monitoring and 

working with their local jurisdictions.

What are the data sources for NTIP? 

NTIP uses routine data reported to CDC via the Report 

of Verified Case of Tuberculosis (RVCT), the Aggregate 

Reports for Tuberculosis Program Evaluation (ARPE) on 

contacts of TB cases, the Electronic Disease Notification 

(EDN) system for the follow-up examination of 

immigrants and refugees with a B notification, and the 

TB Genotyping Information System (TB GIMS), as well as 

population data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American 

Community Survey. 

How often are data updated?

NTIP is updated daily with data submitted to and received 

by CDC. This dynamic system allows program staff to 

generate reports using the most up-to-date data. Reports 

can also be generated using data frozen at the end of 

each year. Data generated using frozen data correspond 

to those reported in the CDC Annual TB 

Surveillance Report. 

Program staff members are encouraged to review NTIP 

data for their program on a routine basis to ensure data 

submitted to CDC are accurate and complete. Individual 

case data are available to program staff for cross 

matching and validation with local registries.

How can NTIP help with the Aggregate 

Reports for Tuberculosis Program 

Evaluation (ARPE)?

The NTIP system hosts the electronic data entry and 

reporting of outcomes for TB contact investigations 

collected in the Aggregate Reports for Tuberculosis 

Program Evaluation (ARPE). State and local TB program 

staff should use NTIP to submit ARPE reports to CDC. Staff 

who need access to the ARPE functionality in NTIP should 

contact their program TB System Administrator and the 

CDC’s DTBE Technical Support Helpdesk via 

DTBESupport@cdc.gov for assistance. 

What training or support is currently 

available on NTIP?

CDC staff are available to assist in using and interpreting 

NTIP reports. Technical assistance for accessing and 

navigating the NTIP system and understanding and 

resolving data questions is also provided by CDC’s DTBE 

Technical Support Helpdesk by emailing DTBESupport@

cdc.gov. Additionally, training on NTIP for new program 

management staff is available through the CDC TB 

Program Managers’ Course.

Additional Resources

• CDC. Aggregate Report for Tuberculosis Program 

Evaluation: Training Manual and User’s Guide, 2015. 

• CDC. Disease Surveillance Among Newly Arriving 

Refugees and Immigrants — Electronic Disease 

Notification System, United States, 2009. MMWR, 

November 15, 2013 / 62(SS07);1-20. 

• CDC. National TB Indicators Project (NTIP) Companion 

for Data Managers, 2015.

• CDC. National TB Indicators Project (NTIP) User 

Guide, 2015.

• CDC. Report of Verified Case of Tuberculosis (RVCT): 

Instruction Manual, 2009.

• CDC. TB Genotyping Information Management 

System (TB GIMS).

• The Electronic Disease Notification system (EDN)